I'm P.C., and I have studied food and cooking around the world, mostly by eating, but also through serious study. Coursework at Le Cordon Bleu London and intensive courses in Morocco, Thailand and France have broadened my culinary skill and palate. But my kitchen of choice is at home, cooking like most people, experimenting with unique but practical ideas.

So it’s the middle of summer. You’ve been to the farmers market and loaded up your bag with beautiful vegetables. That whole box of yellow squash and lots and lots of tomatoes. Now what? I always get questions from friends about how to use squash (other than squash casserole) and for interesting ways to […]

When I think of really old Southern recipes, spoon bread always comes to mind. I really have no particular knowledge of its history, its just that first time I ever had it was on a school trip to Colonial Williamsburg where it is served at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern by costumed and in-character servers. I […]

I spend most of my time in the kitchen. It’s my favorite space in this house, a house my father has always called a kitchen with a bedroom attached. It’s a large, open space, with a fully fitted kitchen, lots of counter space and a den attached where I do most of my work […]

When tomatoes are is season, or growing on my vines if I’m lucky, I preserve them in any way I can think of. I make sauce, tomato soup base and just plain old puree and stack them up in ziptop bags in the freezer. Sometimes I can whole tomatoes, but now I’ve learned you […]

Nothing motivates one to get in the kitchen more than a funeral. We all seem to harbor that primordial need to comfort with food. And there are fixed ideas – recipes that we keep in mind, or maybe on a card at the front of the recipe box for easy access. A hearty, comforting […]

I love tomato soup, love, love, love it. All kinds, all flavors, hot or cold, even from a can. But it’s so easy to make it yourself. I love to whip up a big pot, and stash away servings in the freezer to have on hand whenever the […]

I love community cookbooks. The great and broad recipe collections gathered together by Junior Leagues, Junior Auxiliaries, symphony groups, historic homes, garden clubs. I have a large and ever-growing collection of these treasures. Some of them are quite professional nowadays, with editors and trained photographers. But I particularly love the old-school cookbooks, […]